.338 Federal

.338 Federal
.338 Federal between .308 Winchester (left) and .358 Winchester (right)
Type	Rifle
Place of origin	United States
Production history
Designer	Federal Cartridge / Sako
Manufacturer	Federal Cartridge
Produced	2006
Specifications
Parent case	.308 Winchester
Case type	Rimless, bottleneck
Bullet diameter	.338 in (8.6 mm)
Neck diameter	.369 in (9.4 mm)
Shoulder diameter	.454 in (11.5 mm)
Base diameter	.470 in (11.9 mm)
Rim diameter	.473 in (12.0 mm)
Rim thickness	.049 in (1.2 mm)
Case length	2.01 in (51 mm)
Overall length	2.75 in (70 mm)
Primer type	Large rifle
Maximum pressure	62,000 psi
Ballistic performance
Bullet weight/type	Velocity	Energy
180 gr (12 g) Accubond	2,830 ft/s (860 m/s)	3,202 ft·lbf (4,341 J)
185 gr (12.0 g) TSX	2,750 ft/s (840 m/s)	3,107 ft·lbf (4,213 J)
210 gr (14 g) Nos Part	2,630 ft/s (800 m/s)	3,226 ft·lbf (4,374 J)
Source(s): Cartridges of the World [1]

The .338 Federal is a rifle cartridge based on the .308 Winchester case necked up to .33 caliber. It was created by Federal Cartridge and Sako in 2006 and intended as a big game cartridge with reasonable recoil for lightweight rifles.^[1]

Comparison

In terms of performance, the .338 Federal compares favorably with cartridges that have similar capacities and purposes. It has less recoil yet similar muzzle velocity and energy compared to the 7mm Remington Magnum in bullets of the same weight while having greater energy than the .30-06 Springfield. The .300 Winchester Magnum is also a worthwhile comparison despite the .300's considerably higher recoil. Also included in the table below is the older .358 Winchester, another cartridge based on the .308 that is intended for shorter range.

Rifles

Sako ^[2], Kimber Manufacturing^[3], Tikka, and Ruger^[4] offered bolt action rifles and ArmaLite^[5] and DPMS Panther Arms^[6] offered semi-automatic rifles in .338 Federal as of November 2008.

See also

• .338 Winchester Magnum
• .338 Marlin express
• .338 Lapua Magnum
• .338 Remington Ultra Magnum
• List of rifle cartridges
• 8 mm caliber
• sectional density

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Cartridges of the World 11th Edition, Book by Frank C. Barnes, Edited by Stan Skinner, Gun Digest Books, 2006, ISBN 0-89689-297-2 pp.75,104
2. ^ Sako 85 website, retrieved 26 Feb 2010
3. ^ Kimber 84M webpage, retrieved 17 Nov 2008
4. ^ Ruger website, retrieved 17 Nov 2008
5. ^ ArmaLite website, retrieved 21 Feb 2009
6. ^ Panther LR-338L, retrieved 17 Nov 2008

Notes

• ^[a] Load values specify typical powder weight for this level of performance.

External links

• Peterson's Rifle Shooter magazine reviewed the .338 Federal in a Kimber 84M in "Truly Useful: The .338 Federal."

• Chub Eastman of Guns & Ammo has an article on reloading the .338 Federal: ".338 Federal: Federal's first proprietary cartridge makes real short-action sense" (2 Feb. 2007). He also wrote of using it to hunt antelope in New Mexico.

• Chuck Hawks reviewed the .338 Federal in, "First Look: The .338 Federal Rifle Cartridge"

• Sheriff Jim Wilson of Shooting Times magazine reviewed the .338 Federal in a Sako rifle and tells of his experience hunting whitetail deer with them "In The Field With The New .338 Federal".

• Buck Pope of GunWeek reviewed using the .338 Federal in a Sako Hunter Model 85 and his use of them to harvest a 225 pound wild boar and an 8-point whitetail deer "The New .338 Federal Is Big News for Big Game"

• Buck Pope of GunWeek reviewed the .338 Federal in a Ruger Model 77 Mark II Frontier in "Ruger M77 Frontier Rifle In .338 Federal Test Report"

• Jeff Quinn of GunBlast.com reviewed the ArmaLite AR-10T in .338 Federal in "ArmaLite AR-10(T) Match Grade .338 Federal Semi-Auto Rifle" (14 Aug 2008).